Thailand aims for hat-trick as Tiger Cup kicks off<\/p>\n
Agence France-Presse, Hanoi, Vietnam<\/p>\n
Southeast Asia's biennial battle for footballing supremacy
\nkicks off Tuesday with regional giant Thailand gunning for a hat-
\ntrick in the 10-team Tiger Cup.<\/p>\n
Thailand, which begins its campaign against Malaysia in Kuala
\nLumpur on Friday, starts as favorite to be crowned champion of
\nthe ASEAN Football Championship for the third tournament in a
\nrow.<\/p>\n
Launched eight years ago, the Tiger Cup has been held every
\ntwo years since 1996 and has emerged as Southeast Asia's premier
\ninternational soccer event.<\/p>\n
This year's competition is being co-hosted by Malaysia and
\nVietnam, with each nation staging one of the two first round
\npools of five teams before home-and-away knockout rounds start on
\nDec. 29.<\/p>\n
Group A gets under way in Ho Chi Minh City on Tuesday with
\nLaos meeting Indonesia while Singapore play host Vietnam.
\nCambodia completes the group.<\/p>\n
Group B, which kicks off in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday, sees
\nhost Malaysia pooled with Thailand, the Philippines, Myanmar and
\nEast Timor.<\/p>\n
With victories in three of the four Tiger Cups held to date,
\nThailand starts as the team to beat despite a troubled year which
\nhas seen them change coach twice, exit World Cup qualifiers early
\nand get trounced at the Asian Cup.<\/p>\n
Former German international Siegfried Held -- a veteran of the
\n1966 and 1970 World Cups -- has sought to introduce an air of
\nstability into the Thai set-up by enforcing a strict disciplinary
\nregime.<\/p>\n
Previous coach Carlos Roberto de Carvalho's reign was made
\nmiserable by players missing training or arriving late for
\nsessions -- and Held is determined not to suffer the same
\ndifficulties.<\/p>\n
Practical jokes on the training ground have been banned, as
\nhave alcohol and poker games. Players must switch off mobile
\nphones when at the training camp and Held has also ordered a
\n\"lights-out at 10 p.m.\" policy for his players.<\/p>\n
Held is banking on the experience of midfielder Therdsak
\nChaiman, the star of the 2002 tournament, to inspire Thailand to
\nmore Tiger Cup glory.<\/p>\n
The Thais warmed up for the competition with a penalty shoot-
\nout loss against Slovakia in Bangkok last week after a 1-1 draw
\nin normal time.<\/p>\n
Held said the match showed up worrying weaknesses in Thai
\nranks, and has called for his team to maintain possession more
\neffectively.<\/p>\n
\"Once again we showed fighting spirit but only fighting spirit
\nis not good enough to win matches,\" Held said. \"Instead of quick,
\nsimple passing they always make jokes with the ball.<\/p>\n
\"The service to the strikers was not very good and the
\nstrikers did not hold the ball up for the midfield. They have to
\nprotect the ball rather than always trying to beat their man.\"<\/p>\n
Despite Held's concerns, it will be a major surprise if
\nThailand fails to win a semifinal berth from Group B, where its
\nmain rival for top spot is likely to be Malaysia.<\/p>\n
Group A meanwhile should see a more closely fought contest,
\nwith Vietnam -- runner-up when the country last hosted the
\ntournament in 1998 -- Indonesia and Singapore expected to head
\nthe challenge for the two semifinal places.<\/p>\n
In a break with previous years, the knockout phase of the 2004
\nTiger Cup will see the semifinals played over two legs on a home-
\nand-away basis between Dec. 29 and Jan. 2.<\/p>\n
The final will also be home and away, with the two legs
\nscheduled for Jan. 8 and 15.<\/p>\n
Tiger Cup fixtures<\/p>\n
Draw and schedule for Tiger Cup ASEAN Football Championship
\nwhich gets under way on Tuesday:<\/p>\n
Group A
\nCambodia
\nIndonesia
\nLaos
\nSingapore
\nVietnam<\/p>\n
Matches
\nAt Ho Chi Minh City
\n7\/12\/04: Laos v Indonesia, Singapore v Vietnam
\n9\/12\/04: Cambodia v Vietnam, Indonesia v Singapore<\/p>\n
At Hanoi
\n11\/12\/04: Laos v Cambodia, Vietnam v Indonesia
\n13\/12\/04: Singapore v Laos, Indonesia v Cambodia
\n15\/12\/04: Vietnam v Laos<\/p>\n
At Haiphong
\n15\/12\/04: Cambodia v Singapore<\/p>\n
Group B
\nEast Timor
\nMalaysia
\nMyanmar
\nPhilippines
\nThailand<\/p>\n
Matches
\nAt Kuala Lumpur
\n8\/12\/04: Philippines v Myanmar, East Timor v Malaysia
\n10\/12\/04: Thailand v Myanmar, Malaysia v Philippines
\n12\/12\/04: East Timor v Thailand, Myanmar v Malaysia
\n14\/12\/04: Philippines v East Timor, Malaysia v Thailand
\n16\/12\/04: Myanmar v East Timor, Thailand v Philippines<\/p>\n
Semifinals
\n29\/12\/04: 1st A v 2nd B 1st leg
\n30\/12\/04: 1st B v 2nd A 1st leg
\n01\/01\/05: 2nd B v 1st A 2nd leg
\n02\/01\/05: 2nd A v 1st B 2nd leg<\/p>\n
Final
\n08\/01\/05: Winner SF1 v Winner SF2 1st leg
\n15\/01\/05: Winner SF2 v Winner SF1 2nd leg<\/p>",
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